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1. (re public schools / in-state advantage): Being in-state might help A LITTLE at a public school --- but not exceptionally, so don't make an assumption based on that. I remember actually calling U of Minnesota (as a potential out of state applicant) and they told me they "technically" favor in state ppl in their formulas, but the role that plays is so small that it is very unlikely to be a deciding factor in an admissions decision. (on the other hand, they might set a target of at least 40-50% in staters or whatever they decide--- maybe toughness on that varies w/ the cycle and who applies).

2. (do private schools consider your location?) -- Here's my idea of that: You might have another slight advantage in applying to a school that is close to you -- I don't think it's necessarily b/c of the STATE you're in, but the GENERAL LOCATION. I'm from the Chicago area, and got into Depaul/Loyola/Kent --- in fact, I heard back from them almost immediately... but most of the other schools that I applied to that had similar stats/ rankings, but were further away, either rejected or waitlisted me. I got the idea that schools were "NUMBERS-CONSCIOUS" re acceptances (e.g. they didn't want to give away more than x # of acceptances that people didn't enroll off of --- SO the waitlist is an effective mechanism for avoiding that problem, b/c they might figure you're less likely to go there if you live far away... if you are really serious about that school, you live far away, and you are a close call for admissions, they can simply WL you. Then, you'll follow up, and they might take you on if it works out...). Again, I think this is far from a primary factor - LSAT and GPA are like 90% of it outside head-turning circumstances.

lawschoolnumbers.com helped me alot in terms of gettting an idea of all this (plus the $$$ aspect)... good luck!

It really depends heavily on the school. Certain state schools like UNC and UT have strict quotas of how many non-residents they can accept. Others like UMN, Iowa, and IU-B seem to take it into account only minimally.

In terms of top private schools, some really want to obtain certain demographic balances. You may have a good shot against people with similar stats if you come from a school or state that is generally not represented because schools love to say "We 250 universities and 50 states represented in our class." On the other hand, if you are from an area that is overrepresented at a school that wants to be more national, you may not do as well as other people with similar stats. I've seen it happen with two similarly ranked schools in one city- someone may get a ton of money from one and flat-out rejected from the other. Another person with almost the same stats will have the opposite experience.

It really depends heavily on the school. Certain state schools like UNC and UT have strict quotas of how many non-residents they can accept. Others like UMN, Iowa, and IU-B seem to take it into account only minimally.

even schools in the same state can have different policies ... UCLA, I believe, has a higher quota of in state students than Boalt. So you should definitely check the policy of each school you have thought of applying to

I'm living in Canada right now, but have CA residence (or at least, a greencard, an address, driver's license, and bank account in CA) Should I make it VERY clear that I want to go to a CA school or just let it be?

Does anyone think it's going to be a problem? I'm hoping that adcoms will jsut look at the LSDAS sheet with my grades that lists my residence as in California, but my temporary mailing address as in T.O. as just temporary.